Heart of Flames
by Pixie Faolan
Summary: If you think being the daughter of infamous super villains is hard, you wouldn't survive a day in pyrokinetic Kaida Flamewalker's life. Throw in romance with a moody pyro and an unlikely set of friends and you've got one super powered highschool drama.
1. Prologue

**Yep, along with an updated story, you get another new story…I've been busy, what can I say.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters or ideas associated with it or any other comic books. I DO, however, own Kaida and Miyuki and their family as well as their friends so please no stealing my characters. **

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block. **

Heart of Flames

A Sky High Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)

Prologue

It started when I was six; I remember going camping with my parents and several of their friends from 'work'. It was one of our summer traditions. I remember having a big bonfire the first night we got there, it was so warm and it felt so good, I found myself sitting as close to the fire as possible without actually being in it. I remember watching my father, Wolf Flamewalker, and his best friend Darren Blaze, more commonly known as Baron Battle, as they started the fire, bright orange and red flames dancing across their hands and arms as they directed them towards the large pile of sticks and branches that had been gathered. I remember wishing that one day I would be able to do that too. Yeah, you heard right, my dad's best friend was the notorious super-villain Baron Battle. But that's nothing, my father was Hell Hound, yeah, you know the one. Citizens and heroes alike called him the Grim Reaper's calling card, other's liked to joke around and call him Cerberus, which happened to be the name of one of our pit bulls, my favorite one of the litter, a big black behemoth of a dog that I could ride like a horse, granted I was only six. My father was a big man, and full blooded Cherokee. He towered over most people, Darren included, with his six foot nine inch frame and his muscular build. His dark tanned skin and chestnut hair was so very different from my pale porcelain skin and deep reddish-orange locks. I remember my mother looking at me worriedly as I inched closer and closer to the flickering flames. Her amber colored eyes, so very like my own, held a troubled expression as she locked gazes with the other members of our little party.

"Come on, Cat, give the sheila a break, she ain't gonna jump in the flames, she's just enjoyin' the heat." One of them had said in a slightly diluted Australian accent, his name was John Allerdyce or Pyro from the Brotherhood, he's also my Godfather.

"John's right, Koneko, just let her be, besides. Do you really think any of us would let her get hurt? I mean, how many Pyrokinetics do we have here? Not to mention Tempestra is here, she could just create a rainstorm over the flames to put them out." the woman sitting next to John had said. She was his wife and her name was Wanda, also known as the Scarlett Witch, daughter of Magneto. Tempestra, the super-villainess that she had mentioned, was none other than my Godmother Tenshi Koizumi, mother of my six year old best friend and Godsister Miyuki Koizumi, who was sitting next to her mother a ways away from the flames.

"I know, but I still worry. She's my daughter, I can't help it." My mother said, her words slightly accented from her Japanese heritage. My mother met my father soon after she moved to Maxville seven years ago. Most people know her as Catwoman. I know what you're probably thinking right now, Catwoman, as in Patience Phillips like in that sorry ass Hollywood rendition? You're wrong. The only thing they got right in that movie was her outfit. And I mean the only thing.

Patience Phillips was the Catwoman before my mom, she died on a vacation to Japan with her husband, the cop. Midnight, the cat that had made Patience Catwoman was there as well, and it was a very good thing he was. My mom was sixteen at the time, and she had been walking in the woods surrounding the shrine that her mother owned. She wasn't watching where she was going and she slipped on an algae covered rock on the bank of the river she had been following. She tumbled into the swift moving waters of the river and was swept down and went crashing through pounding water and air as she was swept over the edge of the waterfall. She drifted, lifeless, down the smooth river after the fall, no one really knows for how long, but finally she ended up washed onto the riverbank, where Midnight found her and gave her the gift. When she awoke, it took her a while to piece together what had happened, and with no one but Midnight to guide her, she ignored it. Midnight stayed, watching over her until finally, something happened that made her start to understand. She had been in her room on the second floor of the shrine and the window was open to let the scent of cherry blossoms be carried in on the fresh spring air. She had been leaning on the window sill when her mother had come in and startled her. She jumped and was thrown off balance, toppling out of the open window. Subconsciously her body rotated in the air as she fell, ending with her landing solidly in a cat-like crouch, with barely even a scratch marring her creamy porcelain skin. After that it was hard for her and her family to ignore these things. They began to notice the subtle change in my mom. First it was just her grace and movement; she gained feline elegance and balance as well as speed and reflexes. Then her habits started changing, all she would eat was seafood and other types of meats, especially poultry and beef. She began climbing up into the rafters or onto the roof to sleep, then waking and falling from the heights only to land on all fours in a graceful crouch. Her intelligence skyrocketed, as did her physical fitness and flexibility. Her eyes changed, becoming like those of a cat's complete with slit pupils and the ability to almost zoom in on particular details, like her ability to see an eagle that is several miles away with as much detail as if it was right in front of her. Soon she was holding conversations with cats of any kind, even the tiger at the zoo. Her parents were scared of her, and thought that she was possessed by Nekomata, a Japanese cat demon that has a forked tail and controls the bodies of the dead like puppets. By the time she was eighteen, her parents had rejected her and told her to leave and never return. That was the reason for her transition into villainy. She started as a thief, using her abilities to get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it, but soon, that wasn't enough. She got word of the American Catwoman and the fact that she had died, and she seized the opportunity. She came to America and took up the mantle of Catwoman, taking her from theft and vigilante work to large scale villainy, leading her to meeting my father.

I can remember falling asleep as I watched the flames dance happily in front of my mesmerized amber eyes. It was almost like I could hear them whisper to me; beckon me to join them in their dance. I wanted nothing more than to do just that, to abandon all cares and jump into the flames. I remember wondering what it would feel like to have their delicious warmth dance across my skin as I twirled in their embrace. Wondered if it would burn, or if it would feel like hugging my father with his abnormally warm skin. That was the first night that I dreamed of dancing with the flames, but even then I knew it wouldn't be my last. The next morning I awoke with the sun, slipping silently out of the tent I shared with Miyuki, who was still sleeping peacefully. I remember gathering an outfit and walking over to my mom to ask her to take me to the showers. And I remember what happened when we walked back the most. I had finished my shower and dressed in a pair of black shorts and a red shirt emblazoned with a golden tribal sun. Red flip flops protected my feet. I walked hand-in-hand with my mom back toward the camp, and everyone was settled around the dying embers of last night's bonfire. I remember the feeling I got as I watched the smoldering embers. I felt as if they were screaming at me, almost like they were begging me to give them a boost, help them blaze back into their happy dance. I wanted to do nothing other than help them, but I didn't know how, I thought about asking Dad, or Darren, or John to relight them, but noticed that if they hadn't already they weren't going to. I walked up to my dad and gave him a hug, thinking that maybe the pained voices of the flames would go away if I ignored them. But they didn't, they only screamed at me louder. I pulled away and glanced at all the other faces that were smiling at me besides my parents: Pamela Isley better known as Poison Ivy, Slade Wilson known as Deathstroke the Terminator, Slade's wife Yuriko Oyama or Lady Deathstrike, The Sisterhood of Mutants except Psylocke and Red Queen, Pietro Maximoff known as Quicksilver and the twin brother of Wanda, Wanda Allerdyce known as the Scarlett Witch, John Allerdyce known as Pyro, Darren Blaze known as Baron Battle, and Tenshi Koizumi known as Tempestra. As I glanced at each face, I felt heat rise in my body. It felt amazing, like a fire was blazing to life within me in response to the dying embers. I moved towards the remains of the bonfire, and to my surprise, as well as all of my other companions, the closer I got to them, the hotter they glowed. I could hear the whispering screams start to die down as I got closer to the embers, and the closer I got the more the screams receded being replaced by a whispered song. I was finally standing next to the embers and they were glowing white hot. I didn't know what exactly I was supposed to do, so I did what the flames had beckoned me to do last night. I stepped into the embers. Immediately the embers flared to life, creating a massive bonfire twice the size of the one my father and Baron Battle had started. I smiled as the flames' happy voices floated into my ears. The flames felt so warm and comforting, I never wanted to step out of the blaze. I laughed along with the flames, wondering how my clothes, skin, and hair weren't burning off of my body. As if the flames could read my mind, they answered my questions.

"_**Little dragon, born of the eternal flame. We could never harm you. We want to play with you, we are part of you. We are your spirit, your soul. You have a heart of flames dear child. But you cannot stay in our embrace forever. You must learn, trust us. We will guide you."**_ I heard their voices whisper through my mind. And almost as if it was instinct, I stepped out of the flames. They died down behind me, from the roaring blaze I had started to a happily crackling fire content to stay within its confines. My father, along with everyone else, stared agape at my small form. I smiled sheepishly.

"Kaida Cheyenne Flamewalker! What do you think you were doing?" My mother screeched worriedly.

"The flames didn't wanna go out, Mommy. They told me so. They wanted me to dance with them last night, but I didn't think you'd let me. But then they were going out and they asked for help and I didn't know what else to do!" I said softly, tears threatening to spill.

"Honey, did you say the flames _spoke_ to you?" My dad asked gently, I noticed the small smile on his lips; it was mirrored on Pyro and Baron Battle. Apparently they had been happy about my obvious Pyrokinetic abilities.

"Yeah," I sniffled, "When I was standing in the fire, they called me 'Little dragon, born of the eternal flame' and told me that they were part of me. They said that they are my spirit and soul and that I had a heart of flames. They told me I couldn't stand in them forever and that they would teach me and guide me if I trusted them. They said I had to learn, but I don't know what."

The eyes of every adult there widened even more if that was possible. A collective murmur went through the crowd.

"John, Wolf, Darren, have any of you ever experienced anything like that with the flames?" My mother asked.

"Can't say that I have." John said.

"Sorry, Cat, I've never heard of any Pyrokinetic being spoken to by the flames." Darren said, an awed yet concerned look crossing his handsome features.

"Well, when I was younger the flames spoke to me, but they haven't for a long time. However, I do recall the flames speaking to me not to long ago during that robbery that I helped Darren with. It's actually where I found out about that stuff I was telling you about, Darren." My father said, "Although they've never spoken to me like that. How did they know that her name meant Little Dragon?"

"I'm not sure, but we should get her put into some sort of program for children with early developing powers." My mother said.

"I gotta agree with Koneko on this one, Wolf. You can put her in that program with my son. I know that it's a place filled mostly with heroes' kids, but Julianna insists that he goes there. And to a certain degree I agree with her, it's not like it matters whether the kids go to hero school or villain school, the side they choose is up to them in the end, right?" Darren said.

"That sounds like a great idea, Darren. Would you mind taking her?" My father asked.

"You don't even have to ask, Wolf. I'll pick the kid up in the mornin' make sure she's up and ready by eight." He replied, walking forward and slinging me up onto his shoulders. I laughed as he did, it felt like I was flying, then I was settled on his broad tan shoulders. Like my father, his skin was always extremely warm, but it wasn't anymore, it felt normal, but maybe that was because I was like him then.

The rest of that day was spent with the adults talking in one area, and Miyuki and I playing in another area within sight but out of earshot.

"That was so cool what you did with the fire, Kai!" She squealed in excitement.

"I know, you wouldn't believe how good it felt to be standing in the flames either. But I don't suggest you try it, you'll probably get burned. I mean your momma controls weather and your dad controls ice and water, I don't think you would mix well with fire." I laughed. She laughed with me.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, I wonder if you got your mommy's power too." She said. I thought for a minute.

"Hey, maybe I did. We should try it sometime, but how?" I asked.

"I don't know, maybe we should ask." She replied.

"Yeah, we can ask the next time they call us over." I smiled. She returned the smile, then we went on with our game.

"Kaida, Miyuki, come over here, it's time to eat!" My mother called to us a few hours later.

"Coming mom!" I yelled, then added in a whisper to Miyuki, "Now's our chance to ask about my powers!" She nodded and followed me over to where the adults were. Once we were all settled with our plates of hot dogs and baked beans, Miyuki nodded to me, telling me to ask my mom about my powers.

"Hey, mom, can I ask you something?" I asked, unsure of how to start the conversation.

"Sure, Kaida, anything." She replied.

"Umm, since I got Daddy's powers now, do you think that maybe I got yours too?" I said in a rush. A thoughtful look seemed to pass through the eyes of every adult there.

"Well, it is a possibility, isn't it, Cat?" Chimera said.

"I'm not entirely sure, to tell you the truth. Midnight would know, I can summon him here and ask him." My mother said.

"Please, please, please can you? I wanna know!" I whined like the six year old that I was. Darren and my dad chuckled at my antics. My mom giggled slightly before her face took on a look of concentration. A few minutes later she opened her eyes and smiled.

"Midnight is on his way." No sooner had the words left my mother's lips than the deep grey Egyptian Mau jumped down from a tree and landed right in my lap.

"Hello Midnight." I said happily as I stroked his fur. He purred in response.

"Midnight, is it possible for my powers to be passed to Kaida?" My mom asked. Normally I was used to the silence that I heard when my mom waited for or received a response from Midnight, but what I got was far from expected.

"I did not think it was possible, Koneko, but apparently my thoughts have proven to be false. The child understands me now. Perhaps it manifested in her because I was present during her birth, or maybe Bastet wishes it to be so. Only the gods know." I heard in a melodic baritone Egyptian voice that could only have belonged to Midnight.

"How do you know she understood you, Midnight?" My mother questioned.

"Because I did, mom. I've never heard it before, but I heard him talk just now. It sounded pretty, like a song." I replied.

"See, Koneko, the child knows my voice." Midnight stated. Miyuki smiled at me happily.

"Midnight, does that mean that I'll get all of mommy's powers?" I asked. He was silent for a moment.

"I cannot be sure, child, but only time will tell, I have already been proven wrong on one front, I'll not try to make any assumptions. Only the gods hold the answers to your question." He finally replied.

"Okay." I replied, returning to stroking his fur. I scratched behind his ears and was awarded with a contented purr.

"Now that you show signs of the powers of Catwoman, you will be sent a guardian by Bastet. The type of feline sent to you will reflect your spirit and your soul. Your inner strength. Do not fear your guardian, she will do naught but protect you and teach you as I protected and taught your mother." Midnight said after a few minutes of contented silence.

"Yay! Mommy didja hear that? I get my own Guardian Cat!" I exclaimed. My mom smiled and nodded.

"Really? That is so cool! I wish I had my powers already!" Miyuki said.

"Oh, don't worry, Yuki, I'm sure you'll get your powers soon." I replied. She smiled and nodded.

"Hey, Wolf, I think we should start packing up now and headin' home, if everyone's done eatin'." John said. My dad glanced at his watch and whistled.

"I think you're right, Pyro. We gotta get goin' if we want to get the kids home at a decent hour, especially if I want to get Kaida up before ten tomorrow morning." My dad said. The others nodded and began cleaning, packing, and preparing to head back to their respective homes. Once everyone was ready, we said our goodbyes. John was the first to come up and scoop me off my feet and into a bone crushing hug. I was then passed to each of the villains that weren't heading back to Maxville with us. Then Mom, Dad, Darren, and I loaded up into my Dad's black and chrome Escalade while Tenshi and Miyuki got into Tenshi's cobalt blue Corvette. After an hour and a half drive we pulled up in front of our two story house. Darren's red F350 was parked on the curb out front exactly where it had been left three days prior. Tenshi and Miyuki waved at us as they drove past our house and down onto the next street over where their own two story house was located. We all piled out of the car and went inside for dinner. After a filling meal, Darren finally had to leave just as the sun was setting.

"Okay, Kid, don't forget I'll be here in the morning at eight to pick you up, you'll get to meet my son Warren, he's only a year older than you are. And you'll be going somewhere where they'll help you learn how to control your powers around civilians, then once you're older you'll get to go to Sky High and you'll have a head start because you'll already know how to control your powers." He said, leaning down to look me in the eye before lifting me up into his arms for a hug. I smiled and hugged him back before he set me back on my feet and went out to load his stuff into his truck. Then he was speeding off down the road towards his house. I yawned widely and my dad chuckled.

"Bed time, Kaida, my little dragon." He said, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me up to my red, black, and orange room. After tucking me in to my bed both he and mom gave me and kiss goodnight and left the room, closing the door behind them. I slept soundly that night, once again dreaming of dancing with flames.

…*…

**As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do. Or, if you have an idea for something to happen in the story, do the same thing. **

**~Shadow Wolf (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)**


	2. Chapter 1: Learning Control

**Another update, It's unheard of that I update this much in one single month, let alone one week…I've been busy, what can I say. Let's hope it lasts.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters or ideas associated with it or any other comic books. I DO, however, own Kaida and Miyuki and their family as well as their friends so please no stealing my characters. **

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block. **

Heart of Flames

A Sky High Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)

Chapter One: Learning Control

* * *

><p>My dad woke me up the next morning at six forty-five. I was <strong>not<strong> happy.

"Da-aad! Why do I gotta get up?" I whined, "I'm still tired!"

"I know, Spitfire, I know. But you have to get up, Darren's gonna come pick you up and take you to that school to help you control your powers. You'll get to meet his son Warren; he's a Pyro like you." My dad said, trying to calm me down and coax me out of my warm bed.

"Fine." I huffed, leaving the comfort of my bed and stepping onto my plush deep red carpet.

"Good girl, now get in the shower and clean up. Put on some nice play clothes and come down for breakfast." He said, giving me a hug before leaving the room.

I went around my room pulling out clean underwear and socks and throwing them on my bed. Then I rummaged through my drawers for an outfit. After tossing several pink garments to the floor in disgust I finally found something suitable. I made a mental note to burn the offensive pink clothes that my mom had bought me as soon as I could control my fire. Content with my clothing choices, I ran across the hall to the bathroom where I took a quick, hot shower. At first I had tried to take a cool shower like I usually did, but the water was evaporating before it touched my skin, so I had to take a shower with the dial turned all the way to scalding, yet the water felt just like my normal showers. When I had finished my shower I wrapped up in my fluffy orange towel and raced back across the hallway to my room. Once the door was shut, I toweled off my body and mid-back length hair before pulling on my underwear. I followed them with my dark wash jeans that were bedazzled with orange, red, and gold rhinestones in an abstract swirling pattern up the left leg and swirling across the whole backside of my jeans before stopping at my right hip. I paired that with an orange t-shirt with a tiger on it and a black vest over it so that you could only see the head of the tiger. I pulled my socks on, then proceeded to search for my shoes to no avail.

"Mommy!" I yelled as I walked down the hall toward the kitchen.

"What, Kai dear?" She asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"Where are my orange converse?" I asked.

"By the couch in the living room." She answered, hands on her hips.

"Thanks, Mommy. Can you do my hair after breakfast?" I replied as I walked through the kitchen to get to the living room.

"Yes dear." I heard her answer as I laced up my neon orange converse Chuck Taylor high tops.

"Thanks, Mommy." I said again as I walked back in to the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar.

"You're welcome, Kai." She replied as she sat a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.

"Where's Daddy, Mom?" I asked, a piece of bacon hanging from my lips.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Kai, he's in the garage." She replied.

"'Kay Mom, thanks. Oh, what time is it?" I said.

"It's seven thirty." She replied. I hurriedly finished my food, giving Cerberus my last piece of bacon when he put his blocky head in my lap. He growled with approval and I scratched behind his ears and kissed him on the head. I told him to back off, then I jumped from the stool I was sitting on and walked quickly back out of the kitchen. I told mom that I was gonna brush my teeth, and then I needed her to come do my hair.

Not bothering with the two minute rule, I brushed my teeth quickly, taking maybe a minute. I rinsed my mouth with mouthwash, making sure my breath was fresh. Then I called for my mom to do my hair.

"What do you want me to do to it, Sweetie?" She asked as she ran the brush through my smooth reddish brown hair.

"Ummm…I want…I want…Aha! I want my hair in pigtails, but I want my bangs to hang in my face and kinda cover my eyes." I said.

"Okay, I can do that." She said as she started splitting my hair down the middle, "Do you want them high or low?"

"Low." I replied.

"You got it." She said. When she was finished I looked at my reflection happily.

"Thanks, Mommy!" I exclaimed, happily skipping from the bathroom in search of my dad.

"You're welcome!" She called after me.

"Daddy!" I called through the house.

"In the garage, Spitfire." He called back.

I ran off to the garage and found him working on his car. I smiled, I loved helping him. I was probably the youngest person to ever work on real cars, and probably the only little girl who would rather help her dad work on a car than take ballet lessons.

"Daddy, can I help?" I asked.

"No, Spitfire, I'm sorry, but you can help when you get home tonight. I don't want you to get all dirty before you go off to the school." His reply came out muffled since he was lying underneath the car working on something.

"Fine." I huffed.

"Hey, I know what you can do, Spitfire, you can hand me that wrench on the worktable." My dad said after a minute. I walked over to the table and picked up the wrench then walked back over and placed it in his waiting hand. I leant against the side of the car waiting for either my dad to need me again or for Darren to show up. Soon the rumbling of a motor alerted me to Darren's approach. I heard the gravel in the driveway crunch as his red F350 pulled up in the drive. The rumbling of the engine stopped and I heard the thud of his heavy boots hit the pavement as he jumped from the cab. I met him at the front door, opening it seconds before he knocked, his fist still raised to pound the dark wood of the door.

"Mornin' D!" I said cheerfully.

"Hey, kid, ready to go?" He asked.

"You got it, D." I replied.

"Well then come on." He said. I nodded and followed him to the truck. He opened the back door for me and I hopped in and he shut the door behind me. There was a boy sitting on the bench next to me. He was kinda cute, not that I was interested in boys then, with shoulder length dark brown hair and tanned skin. He wasn't as darkly colored as my dad, but he was darker than Miyuki. He had brown eyes that I noticed were glaring at me. I glared back with just as much intensity and his eyes widened. Mine had probably changed color with my emotions; they do that a lot.

"That's my son, Warren. He's a year older than you." Darren said as he slid into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition.

"Hi." I said, turning to Warren as we pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the road.

"Hey." He replied shortly.

"So, you're a Pyro too huh?" I said trying to start conversation with the moody seven year old.

Hey glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "You're a Pyro?" He said skeptically, looking me over.

"Yeah, why do you look so surprised? Is it so wrong for a girl to be a Pyro?" I replied hotly, my temper getting the better of me. I could almost feel the fire start burning in my eyes as I set them in a hard glare. His eyes widened again before returning my glare.

"Prove that you are a Pyro then." He smirked.

I looked down, and could picture as my eyes darkened to an ashy amber gray. "I can't," I finally said, "I can't control it. I don't know what'll happen if I try." I glanced up at him to gauge his reaction. His eyes had softened from their glare and he was slightly smiling at me.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. I can't control my fire either." He said quietly, "But that's why we're going to this place. They'll help us learn to control it." I smiled at him.

"That's all right, you didn't upset me too bad, I just wish I could control it. I just got my powers yesterday, but I'm still afraid of using them in fear that I'll hurt someone, I don't want to hurt anyone." I replied, "Will you help me too?" He smiled at me.

"Sure, what's your name anyway, dad didn't tell me." He answered.

"Oh, my name's Kaida, and thanks." I said, smiling slightly, my eyes returning to their normal amber glow. He smiled back, warmth flooding into his brown eyes.

"Your eyes are cool; do they always change colors like that?" He said.

"Thanks. Yeah, they change with my emotions. My best friend Miyuki's are like that too except they're blue. You might get to meet her, but she doesn't have her powers yet. She's Tempestra's daughter." I replied.

"Yeah, I heard my dad say you were friends with Tempestra's kid. Is that how you know my dad?" He asked.

"No, my dad works with your dad a lot. He's Hell Hound, and my mom's Catwoman, I got both of their powers." I replied. His eyes widened. "What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing, I just, you don't look like what I'd expect from a villain's kid, but then again neither do I or Miyuki." He said.

"Oh, well, most villains aren't exactly villainous around their own families either." I replied. He nodded his agreement.

"All right, kids. We're here. Get on out and go in, you've already been signed in and they'll get you situated once you're in there." Darren said from the drivers' seat as he parked the car.

"Thanks for the ride, D." I said as I unbuckled and jumped down from the very high truck. I loved his truck; it was a bright fire engine red, with at least two lift kits, and dual tower exhaust. It had a diesel burning engine that roared loudly.

"No problem, kid." He said as I shut the door. I heard the thud of Warren's feet hitting the pavement on the other side of the truck, and I walked around the back to stand next to him. I noticed that he was a good head taller than my three foot four frame. Warren turned and waved to his dad, before walking into the large building with me in tow.

"Hey, Warren, have you been here before?" I asked as we approached the large glass double doors.

"Yeah," he said as he opened the door for me and followed me in, "I've been coming here for about two weeks now."

"Have you got better control now than then?" I asked as we walked up to a smiling lady behind the desk.

"Yeah, kinda, I guess." He said. We stopped in front of the desk.

"Hello, Warren, nice to see you back, and who's this with you?" The lady said her voice a high soprano that hurt my ears.

"My name's Kaida Flamewalker." I answered. Her eyes widened.

"T-the daughter o-of Hell Hound and Catwoman?" The lady stuttered as she all but screeched her words.

"Yeah, how many other Flamewalkers to you know?" I bit back sarcastically covering my ears to protect them from her screech. I knew my eyes had taken on a shade of deep reddish amber, dancing with flames as I glared daggers at her. She flinched away from my six year old form as I lowered my hands, glare still trained on her.

"Sorry, dear. It just shocked me is all, I wasn't aware that Koneko and Wolf had had children." She replied, her voice at a normal tone, yet sadly there was no difference in pitch. I fought the urge to cover my ears again. "What are your powers dear?" She asked.

"I got both of my parents' powers." I answered in clipped tones, well as clipped as a six year old can be anyway.

"Well, then, you'll be in Warren's group mostly. So you can just follow him and meet your instructor. After lunch you'll be taken to meet your other instructor who will help you control your other powers." She said, and then turned away, as if that meant I was done speaking with her because she was finished with me.

"Oh, well, I don't need an instructor for my other power, I already have one. So I'll just stay with the fire instructor if you don't mind." I said sweetly, putting on the six year old little girl charm.

"All right then, sweetie." She said, smiling nicely at me. I nodded, and then turned away from her to face Warren. Immediately when she couldn't she my face, a scowl affixed itself to my lips. Warren cracked a smile, and we turned off in the direction of our 'class' or whatever they call these things.

"She welcomed you the same way she welcomed me when she found out who my dad was." He laughed, "Although I gotta give you props on that stunt you pulled at the end, you're a pretty good actress."

"Thanks, Hotshot." I said, "Her voice hurt my ears, and she was really getting on my nerves. That's one thing you really need to know about me, my temper is shorter than a lit fuse."

"Well then Firecracker, I s'pose I better stay on your good side then." He laughed and I laughed with him. That's how we got our nicknames, after that day, it just kinda stuck, every time we saw each other it wasn't Warren and Kaida it was Hotshot and Firecracker.

"So, where are we going exactly?" I asked.

"To the Elementals room. It's where they teach all the kids that control elements like us, there are three Pyros, including me and you, there are two Hydros, an Electrical, a Metal controller, a Geo, a plant controller, and an ice controller." He replied, "We each get a different teacher depending on the element. Most of the teachers are active superheroes, like ours."

"Cool, who's our teacher?" I asked.

"The Human Torch." Warren replied.

"No way, a member of the friggin' Fantastic Four is teaching us, you kidding? Is he any good?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's a good teacher, really easy to learn from. All he's really teaching us is how to control our body temperature and control small flames. He's also helping us keep our tempers in check so we don't randomly burst into flames when we get mad." He replied. I nodded in understanding.

"So basically we're learning enough control to blend in with citizens. We won't learn to actually control our powers unless we work on our own or until we go to Sky High." I said. He nodded.

"Yeah pretty much." He said as we continued walking down the hallway.

"How big is this place?" I asked.

"Huge," he replied, "but we're almost to the room. It's at the end of the next hall, we gotta go right here." We turned right down the adjacent hall, and I saw a door at the end of the hall that had a plaque stating 'Elementals' in big, black, block letters. We walked through the door and were met with a large classroom with all the other students and about six teachers.

"Good morning, Warren." Said a tall man with dirty blonde buzz cut hair, "And who is this little girl?" He turned his smiling gaze to me.

"Kaida Flamewalker, Mr. Storm, I'm a Pyro, like my daddy." I answered. His eyes widened slightly, and then he schooled his expression and smiled again.

"Call me Johnny, Mr. Storm is my dad. Now, come over here with me and we'll get started." He said, leading me and Warren over to a corner of the room where the walls and floor were littered with scorch marks. Warren and I sat next to the other Pyro on the floor, he was blonde with green eyes and his name was Blaise. He was seven like Warren, which meant I was the youngest.

"Well then, Kaida, how long have you had your powers and how is your control?" Johnny asked.

"I just got my powers yesterday and I can't control them at all. I almost melted my door handle this morning 'cause my skin was so hot." I replied. He nodded.

"Well then, you're at about the same stage as Warren and Blaise. So let's get started. Each of you show me what you can do, starting with Blaise." He said. Blaise stood up and stood in front of us. He snapped his fingers and a small flame began, he quickly extinguished it as it began crawling up his arm. He sat back down.

"Good job, Blaise, Warren you're up." Johnny said.

"Good luck, Hotshot." I whispered to Warren as he stood up and walked in front of us. His face took on a look of concentration, and soon his arm was covered with dancing flames. They began glowing brighter and brighter until he extinguished them and returned to his seat next to me.

"Very good, Warren, Kaida your turn." Johnny said.

"Good luck, Firecracker." I heard Warren whisper as I stood and walked in front of them. I stood there for a minute, just concentrating, wondering what I should do. I felt the heat in my body slowly rising to the surface, like lava in a volcano. Then I heard the whispering voices of the flames. The heat within me was threatening to spill out, but I held it back, uncertain of what I should do.

"_Let us out, Little Dragon. Let us out to play with you. Let us embrace you."_ The voices whispered. I let my barriers fall and the heat embraced me. Bright orange flames covering my body, and surrounding me, they danced over my skin. I laughed. The flames grew, bigger, brighter. I couldn't control them. I couldn't put them out. I felt myself being lifted off the ground and looked down. I was levitating. What was happening to me? I had to stop it before the flames hurt someone. But how? The voices came back.

"_Command us. Reign us back in. Absorb the heat through your skin. Picture us being sucked back into your body."_ They whispered to me. I did. I imagined the heat moving across my skin and pooling at my hands, like lava pooling in a crater. I then picture the flames being sucked back into my hands. I watched as the flames on my skin did just that. They danced across my body to pool in my open palms, and then the flames receded into them until there was nothing left but the lingering heat. I also noticed that I was once again standing solidly on the ground. I looked around. Everyone in the room was staring at me.

"You almost went supernova just then, Kaida. You were losing control. How did you do that?" Johnny said, amazed. I glanced at Warren, his eyes were as wide as I'd ever seen them and his mouth was hanging open.

"Well, um, I don't really know. I just did what the flames told me to and imagined the fire pooling in my hands and then being sucked into my skin." I said. He looked at me, eyes wide in shock. I glanced at Warren again, he had collected himself and was no longer staring at me open-mouthed, however he was staring at me intently, flames seemed to burn within his eyes. I looked back to Johnny.

"So, um, what exactly does it mean if the flames speak to me?" I asked tentatively, almost fearing the answer.

"I, I don't know, darlin'." He said, looking at me sympathetically, "But I do know that I'm gonna help you learn to control this as best as I can so that you don't hurt yourself or anyone else. Going supernova like you almost just did could kill you."

"Thanks, Johnny." I said, throwing him a forced smile. I returned to my spot on the floor next to Warren.

"You're welcome, kid. Now, I think we're gonna take a break for the rest of the day after that little episode, we'll pick up on the control exercises tomorrow." Johnny said. With that, he left us to talk amongst ourselves. Blaise distanced himself, possibly because he was scared of me. That left Warren and I to converse, I was almost afraid of what he would say. Would he hate me now? Or would he be afraid of me? I don't think I'd be able to handle either of those situations. I had only known him for maybe an hour, yet I was already attached to him. I returned my attention to him when he let out a sigh.

"That was amazing, Firecracker. You're way powerful, more powerful than me and I've had powers since I was three, but you have less control than I do, and that's pretty bad 'cause I have almost no control. That makes it more dangerous, but don't worry, I'll help you. And I'm sure Johnny'll help you, he said so." Warren said.

"You mean, you're not mad or anything, Hotshot?" I asked.

"No, why would I be mad?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, you were glaring at me so much when I first met you, I don't know. I was just afraid that you'd be mad or something." I said quietly, shyly.

"Don't be stupid, Firecracker. I was glaring at you because I didn't know you, and I was tired. I'm not a morning person. I hate getting up early, and I hate Mondays. I just wasn't in a real good mood. Okay? I wasn't mad at you then and I'm not mad at you now." He said firmly, leaving me no room for argument. I smiled at him and nodded in agreement. He smiled back.

The rest of our time there went by swiftly and all too soon we were sitting out front waiting for Warren's dad to come pick us up.

"Hey, Hotshot, I forgot to ask earlier, but do you wanna hang out with me and Miyuki? My parents are working right now, off doing something with Pyro and the Scarlett Witch, so your dad's dropping me off at Miyuki's house and Tempestra is going to watch us since Hydrofreeze, her dad, is off trying to stop my parents. Maybe you can help me with my powers in the back yard? I'm sure if you ask your dad he'll let you, if you want to." I asked as we sat on the wooden bench in front of the school. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and smirked, shrugging. I smiled, that meant yes. Over the course of the day I had completely figured out his way of communication, both bodily and spoken. One odd thing that I had noticed was that he only ever smiled completely for me. But being only six, I thought nothing of it.

Minutes after I asked my question, Darren's big red truck rumbled into view. Warren hopped in, and since the truck was higher off the ground than I was tall, he turned around and helped me in. Once I was in I shut the door behind me and buckled in. Darren shot out of the parking lot and was soon speeding down the highway in the direction of Miyuki's house.

"Hey, Dad, you mind if I hang out with Kaida and Miyuki this afternoon. Kaida asked me to give her extra help with her power control and she really needs it. She almost went supernova in class today and was levitating almost two feet off the ground. She started losing control until the flames told her what to do to make the flames stop." Warren said. I heard Darren gasp. His reflection in the rear view mirror gazed at me through wide brown eyes.

"Yeah, sure you can. I'll pick you up around seven. That's when your dad's picking you up too, Kai, he just called me. Hydrofreeze's giving him and Pyro a run for their money; it's a good thing your mom and the Scarlett Witch are there." He laughed. The rest of the drive was quiet and uneventful. I went off into my own little world as I listened to the loud rumbling of the diesel engine. I found myself daydreaming of flames. It seemed like all I ever thought about was the flames. The sound of the engine clicking as it cooled down alerted me that we had arrived. I hopped out of the truck, closely followed by Warren. Darren walked us up to the front door and knocked. We waited a few minutes before I heard the light footsteps running towards the door. Miyuki. The door was wrenched open and the barely three foot frame of Miyuki stood looking at us through her wide blue eyes, a bright smile lighting her lightly tanned skin.

"Hey, Mr. B, Kai, my mom's in the kitchen cooking right now, but she told me to tell you that she'll have a batch of her spicy chocolate chip cookies ready for you later if you wanna come by and pick them up." Miyuki said, smiling at us before throwing a questioning glance at Warren, who just stood there silently staring at the blue two story house with disdain. He must not like blue.

"Well, tell her I said thank you and that I'll be back at seven to pick up the cookies and my son. He's staying here to help Kaida control her powers." Darren said.

"Okay!" Miyuki chirped happily.

"Well, I'll see you kids later. Warren, don't burn the house down." Darren said as her turned and walked back to his truck. We stood in the doorway and watched him drive away before Miyuki lead us inside and into the kitchen.

"Mom, Mr. B said to tell you that he'll be here tonight at seven to get his cookies and to pick up his son Warren. He's staying here to help Kai with her powers." Miyuki said as we walked into the kitchen.

"Thank you dear." Miyuki's mom said.

"We'll be out back so we don't mess anything up, okay Mrs. K?" I said.

"Sure thing, Kai, but please don't burn down my sakura trees and my Japanese maples." She replied. We nodded and walked out into the backyard.

"How was school, Kai?" Miyuki asked as we walked out the back door.

"It was really cool, we are being taught by the Human Torch!" I exclaimed as we walked down near the koi pond, which was the safest place for us to practice without burning the house down.

"That's awesome; I wish I had my powers now." Miyuki said.

"You'll get them eventually, Pixie." Warren said. I smiled.

"Yeah, Hotshot's right, you'll get your powers soon enough, Pixie." I said. Miyuki laughed and nodded.

"I like that name," Miyuki laughed, "thanks you guys."

"No problem, now, what are we gonna do first, Hotshot?" I asked.

"Let's see if you can create a small flame on the tip of your finger like this." He said, and then he snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared before he extinguished it. I snapped my fingers and was rewarded with a small flame appearing on the tip of my finger, I smiled.

"Now, let's see how long you can hold it without losing control." Warren said. I nodded. I watched as the flame danced, it didn't get bigger, but it was getting hotter. It was slowly turning from orange to white.

"Put it out, Firecracker, the flame's burning to hot, you're going to lose control!" Warren said as the flames began creeping up my arm.

"I can't, I'm trying, but I can't. Warren, help me." I was beginning to panic slightly.

"Don't worry; remember what the flames told you to do earlier? Picture the flame pooling in your hand and then dissolving into your skin." Warren said as he moved closer to me. I pictured the flames dying down, going from white hot to warm orange and crawling back down my arm and into my hand. Then the flames dissipated into nothing and I almost fell. I would have if Warren hadn't caught me. Instead we both ended up in a tangled mess on the ground, with me sprawled out on top of him.

"I'm tired now; I think we should call it quits." I spoke into his chest.

"Yeah, good idea, now could you maybe get off of me?" Warren asked. I felt his breath ruffle my hair.

"Sorry, Hotshot." I said as I rolled off of him so that I was laying beside him on the grass.

"No problem, Firecracker, but let's not make that a habit." He replied.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"You guys having fun down there?" Miyuki asked. I looked up into her face.

"Yep." I replied with a laugh.

"Mom says it's time for dinner." Miyuki replied.

"Alright." I said, "Gimme a minute." I watched Warren get up and stretch, then he offered a hand to me. I took it and let him pull me up.

"Thanks, Hotshot." I said.

"Don't mention it, Firecracker." He replied as we made our way back inside for dinner.

"Hey, kids, go wash up while I set the table." Mrs. K said as we walked into the kitchen. We nodded and followed Miyuki to the bathroom where we washed our hands and faces before returning to sit at the kitchen table.

"What are we eating, Mrs. K?" I asked as she carried a pot and a pan over to the table.

"Macaroni and cheese and steaks." Mrs. K replied. I smiled, my favorite.

"Which one is mine, so that no one else gets a rare steak?" I asked with a smile. Mrs. K set the pots down.

"This one's yours." She said as she placed a juicy steak onto my plate.

"Thanks, Mrs. K." I replied.

"You're welcome, Kai. Dig in guys." She said as she took her seat at the table. Dinner was over all too fast, and soon it was time for Warren and I to leave. D walked in while Warren and I were sitting in the living room watching television. Miyuki's mom had made her go take a shower because she had to go to bed soon.

"You guys ready to go?" He asked, standing in the doorway with a bag of Mrs. K's cookies in his grasp. We nodded and hopped off the couch, turning the TV off as we did.

"Thanks for letting us hang out Mrs. K!" I yelled as I walked by the kitchen following Warren and D. She waved and watched us drive away. We drove for a short while, and then we were parked in the driveway of my house. I leaned over and hugged Warren tightly before opening the door and hopping out. With a quick wave at them I dashed into the house to see my parents. As soon as I walked in, mom sent me straight into the bath and then off to bed. I didn't realize just how tired I was until I had been tucked in by my parents. Within minutes I was out like a light.

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><p><strong>As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do. Or, if you have an idea for something to happen in the story, do the same thing. <strong>

**~Shadow Wolf (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)**


	3. Chapter 2: Death, Disaster, and Capture

**With midterms done and a four day weekend ahead of me, I have decided to do my first story updates of the year, finally! I know this one is shorter than the last chapter, heck its shorter than almost any chapter I'm known for writing, but bear with me, the next chapter will be longer.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters or ideas associated with it or any other comic books. I DO, however, own Kaida and Miyuki and their family as well as their friends so please no stealing my characters. **

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block. **

Heart of Flames

A Sky High Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx

Chapter Two: Death, Disaster, and Capture

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><p>It had been three weeks since I had met Warren and we had been practicing fire together in and outside of classes. I had improved greatly in my control, and so had he. Hotshot, Pixie, and I were the best of friends by then. D called us the Three Stooges, though I don't know why. We were inseparable, and if there was trouble to get into, we were into it. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. Just, what I could never understand was why bad things always happened to innocent people.<p>

It was a Saturday, and Warren, Miyuki, and I were hanging out at Miyuki's house because both of my parents and Warren's dad were off working on some major heist together. We didn't know it then, but it would be the last happy day the three of us would ever have together for a long, long time.

We were sitting out by the edge of the Koi pond around noon when our worlds came crashing down around us. Tempestra came running out of the house, frantic, and told us all to get in the car, our parents needed help. So, worriedly, we all piled in the back of her car. I was so worried that I latched onto Warren's hand without even thinking about it. He squeezed my hand back, equally worried.

Minutes that seemed like hours later, we were parked in downtown. The sight wasn't pretty. The first thing I saw was my mom, lying on the ground surrounded by her own blood. I screamed and buried my head in Warren's shoulder, trying to hide from it. I felt his arm go around me and he rested his head atop of mine.

Miyuki was in the seat on the other side of Warren, bawling her eyes out. I don't really know, even now, what had gone wrong that day. Only that the Commander and Jetstream had found out about the plan somehow. Mom had tried distracting them so that D and my dad could get away. It had cost her life. My dad heard her scream and turned around with rage in his eyes.

When D realized that my dad wasn't following him anymore, he turned around and saw my mom on the ground. He charged after my dad. By this time, Warren, Miyuki, and I were standing out next to the car, watching with terror filled eyes.

Without warning, the Commander showed up in front of us and grabbed Warren. I screamed and tried to hold onto him. He looked so scared. I started crying, hot tears rolling down my face. How could he have done something like that, wasn't he supposed to be the good guy? D was powering up for one of his strongest attacks, aimed straight for the Commander, until the Commander turned around using Warren as a human shield.

"Give it up Battle! You can't hurt me without hurting your own son. Just come quietly with us and no one gets hurt." The Commander said loudly. I heard D growl, but he looked defeated. He gave up, not wanting to hurt Warren.

The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, and Warren and Miyuki were screaming my name. The tears were coming faster now. Why did we deserve this? D was staring at me with helpless, pain filled eyes. He was sorry, so sorry, for my mom's death, and what was happening now. Jetstream was using me just like her pathetic partner was using Warren. I was being used against my own damn father.

"Daddy!" I remember screaming, by now my voice was raw, like I had swallowed sandpaper.

"No, Kaida! Don't you dare hurt my baby girl, you bitch! You already took her mother away from her!" My dad screamed angrily. He was near tears, I could tell.

"Then give up and come with us. We promise we won't hurt your kids, either of them." She said, talking to both my dad and Warren's.

"Alright, just put her down on the ground. I'll go with you, just…just don't hurt my baby girl." My dad said. He sounded so broken, and tears were pouring down his face. I was in hysterics.

"No daddy! Don't let them take you! I don't wanna be alone!" I screamed, reaching for him in a vain attempt to get away from my captor.

"I have no choice, Spitfire. I love you baby girl, I'll see you again, I know it. They can't keep me away from you forever." My dad said. I wished I was in his arms, warm and safe. But I knew that I wouldn't be, not for a long time. That was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.

The funeral was held a week later.

I didn't cry as I stood in the cemetery. I watched them with a blank look on my face as the minister gave a message and they lowered my mother's casket into the ground. Miyuki was standing next to me clutching my hand. Tears made silent tracks down her pale face, but no matter how much hurt I was feeling inside, I could not cry.

I had spent the last of my tears the day I after my father's capture and my mother's death. Warren had come over to Miyuki's house, where I would be living until my father was released or I was old enough to live on my own. He wasn't there for a friendly visit, and only stayed long enough to inform me that we were never going to speak again, that our friendship was over.

He was so cold, so detached as he said it; as if he didn't even care that he was breaking me beyond all hope of repair. Then he was gone. I stood outside by the Koi pond, tears streamed down my face even as I was engulfed in white hot flames.

I screamed my sorrow into the sky, though it didn't make much difference. It didn't make the pain go away, and it didn't free my dad, or bring back my mom. I don't know what made him do it, what made him force more pain on me. I had just seen my mother's dead body, been used to capture my father. At least he still had his mom. I was left with nothing except him and Miyuki. And he left me.

Everyone from the camping trip was there to see my mother buried, with exception of D and my dad. Some were in tears, others, like me, were just standing there looking on blankly, hiding the pain inside.

I was never the same after that day. I guess the shock and the pain of having everything I loved ripped away all at once was too much for me to handle at only six years old.

Sure, I still had Miyuki and her family; they took me in and cared for me as if I was their own. Miyuki was as close to me as a sister. Pyro and Johnny came over whenever they could to help me with my fire. And all of my parents' other friends came to check on me whenever it was possible. But they weren't my parents. And they couldn't bring Warren back.

…*…

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><p><strong>As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do. Or, if you have an idea for something to happen in the story, do the same thing. <strong>

**~Shadow Wolf**


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Sky High

**Happy Easter! I'm celebrating with updates, yay. Sorry for making you guys wait so long.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters or ideas associated with it or any other comic books. I DO, however, own Kaida and Miyuki and their family as well as their friends so please no stealing my characters. **

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block. **

Heart of Flames

A Sky High Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx

Chapter Three: Nine Years Later, Welcome to Sky High

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><p>"Kaida! Get your lazy ass outta bed! You're gonna make us late for school." Miyuki's voice pulled me from the calmness of unconsciousness. I groaned and flicked her off.<p>

"Now Kaida!" She yelled at me.

"Fine, gods, why is it so important to you anyway, Yuki?" I asked, suppressing a yawn. She rolled her eyes at me and left my room. I smirked.

"Gods, I hate school!" I groaned as I got out of bed and began to shuffle towards the bathroom.

"Kai, you shouldn't say things like that. You know that you have to go if you want to better control your powers." I looked over at the large black panther sprawled on my bed.

"Why must you always take her side, Nightmare?" I asked. Nightmare was my Guardian Cat. She came to comfort me about a month after my mom had died. She was only a cub then, but as I aged, so did she. Midnight comes to check in every now and then, but for the most part, Bastet trust Nightmare with my protection.

"Because, young one, I take the side of whatever decision is the best for you." She replied. I rolled my eyes and proceeded to drag myself to the bathroom for a quick shower. After my shower I stood in front of the full length bathroom mirror. I had changed greatly in the nine years since I lost my parents. A tattoo of wild flames danced its way up my right arm, starting at my knuckles and ending on the side of my neck. A tattoo of a rose made of flames with its thorn ridden vines of fire tangled with barbed wire tinted orange with heat wrapped itself in an intricate arm band around my left bicep. The piercing in my left eye brow and snake bite piercings in my bottom lip gleamed menacingly under the florescent lighting. As did my navel piercing. The horizontal industrials in the tops of each of my ears just added to the rebel look that I now had going on. So did the tragus and the conch piercings in my left ear. The lobe of my left ear was pierced through twice, both holding onyx studs. The lobe of my right ear held two matching studs, a black hoop pierced through the cartilage of the ear, just below the industrial, a blood red ruby hung from it on a chain that attached to the bottom stud in the lobe.

Finally, I exited the bathroom wrapped up in a fluffy black towel. I walked over to my closet and began my search for what to wear on my first day of high school. Finally I settled on a pair of black skinny jeans that were little more than tatters, covering only the places that were absolutely necessary to remain covered. Over that I pulled on a blood red miniskirt, the hem of which I had stylishly burned to tatters. Over that I put a black and red studded belt with chains hanging from it and a tribal wolf belt buckle. I pulled on a black tank top that had a singed hem that stopped just above my pierced navel. It said 'I don't suffer from insanity…I enjoy every damn minute of it!' across the chest in blood red.

A black spike studded wrist band adorned my flame tattooed right arm. My left arm was decorated with mixed black and red sex bracelets, thirteen in all. Black leather fingerless gloves covered both hands, silver studs on each knuckle. My nails were filed to clawlike points and painted a deep black. A black leather choker clung to my neck, a pendant shaped like an antique key hung from it with a ruby embedded in the top of it. To finish the look, I laced my knee height Magnum combat boots up over my jeans and pulled on a sleeveless leather trench coat with a tattered, singed hem. After I was dressed, I began towel drying my hair as I walked back into the bathroom.

I threw the towel across the shower curtain rod and looked at my reflection. After quickly brushing my teeth and making sure that my tongue bar was properly cleaned, I plugged in the straightener and let it begin heating up. While the straightener heated up I blow dried my many layered red hair. Once it was all dried, I set to straightening all of it. Finally, my hair was styled perfectly, the top layers were only about chin length, maybe a little longer, and were teased so that they stuck out around my head in slight spikes. The rest of my hair was left stick straight and was long enough to reach the middle of my back. Black and blood red coon tails fell down in front of my shoulders on either side, while the rest of my fiery red hair fell straight down my back. My fringe was chin length and straight, angled from the left to the right, hiding my right eye from view.

After I was finished styling my hair, I began with my makeup. I lined my eyes thickly with deep black eyeliner, making me look kind of like a raccoon. The color made my bright amber eyes stand out greatly. I put on black eye shadow that faded to blood red on the outer edges of my eye, giving it a smoky appearance. Then I put clear gloss on my lips to finish the look. Satisfied with my appearance, I left the bathroom to finish getting ready. Once I was back in my room, I grabbed my wallet, switchblade, and iPod and shoved them into my pockets. Then I grabbed my dog tag chain that my keys were hanging on and put it on. I grabbed my black backpack and slung it onto my shoulder before stomping out of the room.

"If you need me, you know how to contact me. I'll be there immediately." Nightmare's melodic voice floated through my mind.

"Thanks, Nightmare." I thought back to her as I entered the kitchen. Miyuki was already sitting at the table eating pancakes. Her long sapphire blue and silver hair was held up in a high ponytail, her side swept fringe just barely covering the outer corner of her right eye. She was dressed in a simple pair of light blue skinny jeans held up by a silver and blue studded belt and a silver tank top that said 'Foxy' on it in blue. Her silver Kyuubi tattoo showed proudly on her right bicep, and the tank top stopped just shy of her pierced navel. Blue, silver, and black Etnies adorned her feet, and blue and black sex bracelets adorned her right wrist. A black and blue striped fingerless glove covered her left wrist from elbow to the first knuckle of each finger, a gift I had gotten her for her last birthday. On her right middle finger was another gift I had gotten her, a silver ring in the shape of angel wings held together in the center where they surrounded a heart shaped sapphire.

"Morning, Kai!" She chirped as I sat next to her at the table.

"Gods, you are way too cheerful early in the morning, Pixie." I grumbled as I poured syrup over my pancakes. She stuck her tongue out at me, flashing her silver tongue bar. I rolled my eyes as Mrs. K set a glass of orange juice on the table in front of me.

"Thanks, Tempestra." I said, taking a sip of the juice. She smiled and nodded.

"Hurry up you two, the bus will be here in twenty minutes." She reminded us.

We nodded and began eating. Once we were finished, Miyuki and I left the house and set off on our way to the bus stop. It wasn't a long walk, and we found ourselves standing at the stop just before the bus pulled up. As we got on, we noticed that all but two seats at the very back were full. The two seats were not together either. One was next to a kid wearing a black and white striped shirt; he had shaggy brown hair that fell into his eyes. The other was next to a rebel looking kid with shoulder length dark brown hair; there were a few red streaks on the right side. He was wearing a worn black leather jacket over a red t-shirt and ripped black jeans. He looked like he was pissed at the world.

I begrudgingly walked back and sat next to him, while Miyuki sat next to the kid in the striped shirt. He looked over at me with a glare in place and I felt my blood run cold. It was Warren. I knew he wouldn't recognize me, at least I hoped he wouldn't. I set my eyes into an angry glare, feeding the years of pain into the expression. His eyes widened slightly before narrowing again. He turned away to glare out the window. I smirked in victory. It would be even worse once he figured out who I was. The bus ride was, for the most part, uneventful. At least, until it turned into a freaking rocket and took off into the air like a freaking jet plane. Miyuki screamed like a little girl, as did half of the bus' occupants.

I chuckled, along with the guy that Miyuki was sitting next to. He must have been an upperclassman, probably in the same year as Warren; at least, he looked to be about Warren's age anyway. That made him a year older than Miyuki and I. When we landed at the school, which was literally Sky High, we filed off the bus to be greeted with the sight of teenager heroes showing off their powers. Warren shoved by me, hurrying off to somewhere, not that I really cared. Then, all of the freshmen were herded into a little group; Miyuki and I were unlucky enough to be in the front of the group. We were faced with a chubby kid, and the kid that sat next to Miyuki on the bus. They stood on either side of a popular looking upperclassman in a pink shirt and miniskirt. I grimaced, I hate girls like that.

"Welcome to Sky High!" She exclaimed in a preppy cheerleader worthy voice. I rolled my eyes. Practically every single hormonal teenage guy in the group was drooling over this chick. She was explaining something stupid in this condescending tone, as if we weren't even worth her time and she was just in it for the honor credits. That was probably why, actually. I really didn't pay attention to her at all until she told us to follow her to the gym for Power Placement. I scoffed at that. I can't believe they did shit like that. They have a name for that sort of garbage: public fucking humiliation, at least, it was for the sidekicks. I was probably gonna shoot straight to the top of the 'Do Not Mess With' list as well as the 'Supervillian in the Making' list. Stupid fucking high school, even for super heroes, they have the damn labels and cliques. And Miyuki wonders why I treat it like hell on earth.

We walked into the large room and found ourselves congregated in the middle of the gym floor. In front of us was a large stage, on it stood a middle aged man wearing shorts that were waaay too short to be appropriate for him to wear in public. After some annoying introductory message from the principal, he began going through the list of students. Each one had to go up there, state their power, and then demonstrate it in front of everybody. After that, Coach Boomer, as the underdressed man was called, would yell at the top of his lungs, which was loud enough to blow someone off the stage, that the student was either a hero or a sidekick. He always yelled sidekick louder though, as if he got off on bringing the poor kid public humiliation and opening him up for torment for the rest of his or her high school career. I already hated his guts. I almost couldn't wait to hear him call my name, just because I wondered if he would stutter once it clicked in his mind just who I was. I didn't have to wait long.

"Kaida Flamewalker…" He had started off in the typical eardrum busting yell, but halfway through my last name he had tripped up and the volume faded. The room was enveloped in a stunned silence as I walked smugly up onto the platform. Boomer stared at me with wide, terrified eyes.

"What? No witty comeback?" I questioned in a menacing whisper. I thought he was going to piss his pants. I chuckled as he whimpered.

"Alright then," I said a bit louder, so that everyone in the room could hear me, "I'm a Pyro and I also have my mom's powers."

"Would you m-mind demonstrating please?" Boomer said, the quietest I think he had been all day. I smirked.

"Gladly." I said with an evil smirk.

Without a second though my entire body was engulfed in flames and the familiar whispered voices flooded into my mind. Then I saw Boomer push a button on a remote in his hand out of the corner of my eye. The flames went out as a spring loaded platform below me sent me sailing into the air. I landed right on the edge of the platform in a low crouch, one hand gripping the edge of the platform. I stood slowly, my body rolling up with feline grace. I glanced down and smirked, there was a charred hand print on the edge of the platform where my hand had been. I looked over my shoulder at Boomer.

"Hero!" He shouted out, it lacked some of his former loudness, and was bathed in fear. I chuckled and jumped off of the stage, the group of freshmen backed off several feet, except Miyuki of course. I returned to my spot standing next to Miyuki and waited for Boomer to continue with the power placement. After a few moments he called up the next person, a nerdy looking kid in orange named Ethan. I nearly laughed when the kid melted into a puddle of orange goo. But I felt bad for the kid when that moron Boomer compared him to a Popsicle and deemed him a Sidekick.

"Alright, you, purple chick, come on up." He yelled. A slightly tanned girl with purple and black hair up in two buns and dressed entirely in black and shades of purple stepped up onto the platform.

"Name and power." Boomer demanded.

"I'm Magenta, I shape-shift." She said.

"Come on, shift it then." He said irritated. We all watched as she shifted into a black and purple guinea pig. Boomer leaned down and muttered something to her before making a shooing gesture with his hands and belting out a loud "SIDEKICK!"

"You, flower child, you're up!" He said, pointing to a hippie looking girl standing next to a kid wearing nothing but red, white, and blue.

"Sorry, I believe in only using my powers when the situation demands it." The girl said.

"Well, you're in luck because this is the situation and I'm demanding it." Boomer said with an air of superiority. I rolled my eyes.

"But I think that participating in this test would be supporting a flawed system and I find the whole Hero-Sidekick dichotomy to be…" She began, trailing off when Boomer raised a hand to stop her.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that you are refusing to show me your powers." He said.

"Well it's a bit more complicated than that." She started. Boomer cut off any further explanation with a yell of "Sidekick!"

"Alright, we'll pick it up after lunch with you." Boomer said, pointing a finger at the nervous looking kid dressed in red, white, and blue.

Miyuki and I left the room quickly, following the tide of students heading toward the cafeteria. We got our food and made our way to an empty table, it was just our luck to end up at a table facing the table where Warren sat by himself. I noticed him glaring at someone and followed his gaze to the kid in red, white, and blue who had sat at the table next to ours with his group of sidekick friends.

"Is that…" Miyuki began, looking pointedly at Warren.

"Yeah, it's him." I sighed. She looked at me sadly.

"Wonder why he's glaring so had at Mr. Red-White-and-Blue over there." She said. I shrugged.

"No idea." I said. I decided to listen in on their conversation.

"Is it me, or is that guy _really_ looking at me?" The kid asked. The girl next to him, the hippie, looked behind her at Warren. The human highlighter who glows, the kid that melts, and the purple chick also looked at him.

"That's Warren Peace, the son of Baron Battle." The hippie girl whispered.

"What's that got to do with me?" He asked.

"Your mom and dad put away his dad nine years ago." The highlighter kid started.

"Quadruple life sentence." Added the Popsicle kid, Ethan.

"No chance of parole until _after_ his third life." The purple chick, Magenta, tacked onto the end. I glanced at Miyuki.

"That means that Mr. Red-White-and-Blue is Will Stronghold, son of the Commander and Jetstream." She said. I nodded; I could feel the anger bubbling up like hot lava and fought to shove it down. I turned my angry gaze back on Stronghold.

"Is he still looking?" Will asked after a few minutes. The hippie girl lied and told him no. He turned to check and came face to face with Warren's glare once again. Then he turned to the side and met my equally angry glare. I'm sure he could see the fire raging in my amber eyes. He snapped his gaze back to his friends.

"What about the chick over there with red and black hair?" He asked warily, not even commenting on his friend's lie. They turned to look at me.

"The one next to the blue haired Japanese girl?" Highlighter kid asked. Will nodded.

"Isn't that…" Magenta trailed off.

"Kaida Flamewalker, remember from Power Placement? She scared Boomer half to death." Ethan said.

"You mean the daughter of Catwoman and Hell Hound?" The highlighter kid actually sounded frightened. I smirked.

"Yeah, Zack." Magenta said. So that was the highlighter's name.

"Your parents put her dad in jail the same time he put Battle in jail. I heard that something happened and her mom ended up dead because of either your mom or your dad, can't remember which. She lives with Tempestra now, which would make the blue haired girl Miyuki Koizumi, the daughter of Tempestra and Hydrofreeze." Ethan said. I had to give him credit, he knew his stuff.

"Great, first day of high school and I already have two, possibly three, arch enemies. Could this get any worse?" Will whimpered. I chuckled under my breath. This year would be fun. Miyuki put up a hand to hide her laugh.

"Do you think that he'll remember?" She asked, glancing at Warren again. I shrugged and looked at him before returning my gaze to my food.

"I don't know. I sat next to him on the bus and he didn't recognize me at all. All he did was glare at me like I was invading his personal space." I said quietly.

"Figures that we'd run into him first thing, considering how close all of us live to each other." Miyuki said. I lapsed into silence and finished eating my lunch. Once the bell rang ending lunch, Miyuki and I threw our trash away and fell back in line with the group of freshmen returning to Power Placement.

"Heh, I wonder how Boomer's gonna react to you. Ya think it'll be about the same as his reaction to me?" I asked as we stood in front of the platform where Stronghold stood next to Boomer. Miyuki shrugged. We watched as Will stood up there, shifting nervously, before leaning up to whisper into Boomer's ear.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR POWER IS?" Boomer yelled. I almost felt sorry for Will when he winced. Boomer chuckled then pushed a button on his remote and yelled "CAR!"

Will yelled and flattened himself to the ground under the car.

"What, are you insane? You could've killed me! I don't have super strength!" He yelled from under the car. Boomer pushed another button and the car returned to wherever it came from. Will stood up shakily.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a flyer like your mother?" Boomer said, then, he pushed the button that activated the springboard he had used on me earlier. Will went flying through the air and crashed to the ground with a thud and a pained groan. Boomer looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"C'mon Stronghold, quit wasting my time and show me what your power is!" Boomer shouted, irritated.

"I don't have any powers!" Will finally admitted dejectedly. Boomer looked at him for a moment after his admission.

"SIIIIIDDDEEEKICK!" He yelled loud enough to shatter the windows throughout the school and send some of the weaker freshmen sprawling onto their asses. Then, he told one of the upperclassmen sidekicks to escort him to the Nurse's office.

"Now, who's next?" Boomer said, glancing around at the students that still had to be placed. "You, with the blue hair, you're up!" Miyuki smirked and walked up onto the stage.

"Name and power." Boomer demanded.

"Miyuki Koizumi. I'm cryo and hydrokinetic and I can control the weather." She said with a smile. Boomer faltered and looked at her with wide eyes.

"P-please, d-d-demonstrate it for us." He stuttered. She smiled and nodded. She raised her arms up on either side of her body, palms out, and slowly the temperature in the room dropped. Ice covered her arms and formed on the ground. The windows began to fog up. The only place ice didn't form was in the area around me because my body temperature was too high. Then the ice slowly melted and formed into a swirling stream of water that snaked its way around her arms and legs, occasionally lashing playfully at Boomer. The fog on the windows faded and the temperature in the room returned to normal. Then the water disappeared completely. Storm clouds began forming above our heads, and wind picked up out of nowhere, swirling loosely around Miyuki. She quickly cleared the room and returned it to its original state before she lost her control over the storm. She let her arms fall to her sides and looked expectantly at Boomer.

"Hero!" He shouted after a moment, though not as loud as his previous declaration of sidekick to Will. Miyuki smiled brightly and skipped back to her spot standing next to me. The circle around me grew even wider as several more students stepped back away from us. I tuned out the rest of the placement, and soon we were simply standing around in the gym waiting for the day to end.

"Alright, now that Power Placement has been completed, you can go to the front office and pick up your schedules." Boomer announced, loudly. We all stood around for a moment, waiting to see if he had anything else to add.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO!" He boomed.

Everyone hurried out of the room and in the direction of the front office. There we were separated alphabetically by last name and were given our schedules. Luckily, Miyuki and I had the same schedules except for a few classes where I was more advanced than she was. Our locker numbers were at the top of the schedule, and we set off to find them just as the bell for the end of sixth period rang. After several minutes of searching the hallways and navigating large crowds of super-powered teens, I found my locker, number 613. I put in the combination and placed my binders, notebooks, and pencil case inside. I left my sketchbook and art pencils in my bag and shut the door.

I heard the door to the locker next to mine open and glanced over only to whip my gaze back to the other direction where Miyuki stood ten lockers away on the other side of the hall. Warren Peace's locker was right next to mine, and he was currently standing there looking for something. I heard a bang and a muffled curse from Warren as someone shoved him causing him to drop whatever he was holding to the ground. Notebooks were everywhere.

I sighed and decided to help him out. I knelt down next to him and picked some of them up. I nearly dropped them all when I saw the picture on the front of one of his binders: a picture of us when we were kids, he was smirking at the camera and had an arm around my shoulders while I was smiling and looking at him from the corner of my eyes as I flashed the 'Rock On' sign. Johnny Storm was standing behind us smiling widely with a hand on each of our heads. I stood slowly and tore my gaze away from the picture to look up at him and hand him the books. He glared and grabbed them from me roughly.

"Thanks, but I didn't need your help." He grunted, turning back to shove the books back into his locker.

"No problem, I'll remember that next time." I growled back. I picked my bag up off the floor and shouldered it.

"See ya around." I said over my shoulder, catching his gaze as I walked over to where Miyuki was waiting for me. As soon as my back was to him a small smile broke out across my face. He remembered me, and he cared enough to keep that one picture. Maybe there was hope after all.

"You do that again and I'll torch you." He shouted after me. I turned so I was walking backwards and smirked at him.

"Not if I torch you first!" I called back, snapping my fingers and causing a flame to burst into life on the tips. His eyes widened and I smirked and doused the flame before turning back to face Miyuki and walking further down the hallway. Miyuki chuckled next to me.

"This year just keeps getting better and better doesn't it?" She asked with a chuckle as we walked out towards the front of the school to wait for the final bell to ring so we could go home.

Once we were outside I spotted a perfectly formed Angel Oak tree that was growing just outside the front doors. Before Miyuki could say a single word I was over to the tree, my bag dropped on the ground at its base, and I was perched up on one of the higher branches, one leg dangling off the side of the branch and the other knee was pulled up towards my chest with my arm resting across it. I leaned my head back against the trunk and closed my eyes. I heard her chuckle from her spot standing next to my discarded bag.

"What?" I asked, stifling a laugh.

"You and trees." She said through her giggles.

"Hey, I'm half cat…sort of…I'm allowed to feel at home in trees." I said with a tone of feigned superiority as I looked down at her.

She shook her head at me and dropped her bag next to mine before sitting down at the base of the trunk. I laughed quietly to myself as I pulled my iPod from my pocket and put the ear buds into my ears. Soon all I could hear was 'I Will not Bow' by Breaking Benjamin, a song that perfectly fit how I was feeling at that particular moment. I smiled and closed my eyes, leaning back against the trunk ignoring everything but the pounding music flowing from my earbuds. I had it loud enough that I'm sure even Miyuki could hear it loud and clear despite being several feet below me.

Twenty minutes later, I was pulled from my music induced stupor by Miyuki freezing my foot that was dangling off the side of the branch I was sitting on. I jumped and landed crouched on the ground in front of her.

"Must you always do that when you try to get my attention?" I hissed at her.

She gave me her best innocent face and shrugged. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag as I stood up and brushed past her. I was one of the first ones on the bus this time around, and claimed a seat in the very back next to the window, five seats behind where Warren had sat that morning. Miyuki sat in the seat next to me, and I placed my earbuds back in my ears and proceeded to once again get lost in my music for the ride back home.

A few minutes later, Miyuki yanked one earbud out of my ear and told me our stop was coming up. I nodded and replaced my earbud just as the bus stopped. I followed her off the bus, nearly falling into Warren's lap when some kid shoved me. Luckily I stopped myself just in time and grunted an apology before stomping angrily off the bus. By the time I had caught up to Miyuki I was using all of my willpower not to let my clenched fists be engulfed in flames.

"Damn, Kai, what's got you all fired up?" She asked once I was close enough that she could feel the heat rolling off of my body.

"Some idiot nearly sent me tumbling into Warren's lap." I hissed, voice full of malice. She held back a laugh.

"I'm assuming you are more angry that someone pushed you and not at the prospect that you were almost in Hothead's lap." She said. My gaze snapped to hers, eyes wide and mouth agape. The urge to burn something quickly dissipated and was replaced with intense shock.

"What the Fuck!" I all but yelled. "Where the hell did you get that idea, Pixie?" She looked at me for a second then burst out laughing. I glared at her.

"What, you can't say you wouldn't enjoy it Kai. You've had a crush on him since we were kids." Miyuki said once she got her laughter under control. I smacked her in the arm.

"Shut up! I do _not_ have a crush on Warren Peace!" I snapped.

"Uh-huh riiight…and I'm six feet tall." She said.

"Well, what about you and that kid in the stripes? He was looking at you on the bus this morning. And don't think I didn't catch you checking him out too." I shot back at her. That shut her up. He cheeks turned slightly pink and she started to stutter a little.

"T-that's ridiculous, I don't even know his name!" She said. I smirked.

"I'll drop your crush on stripes if you drop mine on Warren." I said.

"Fine." She huffed as we turned to walk up the sidewalk. I pulled out my key and unlocked the door.

"Mom? Dad? We're home!" She yelled as I shut the door.

"Afternoon dears, Enkai is out on a call right now, but I'm making cookies." Tempestra's voice echoed from the kitchen. I made my way up the stairs and dropped my stuff off in my room before leaving the room and going into the living room. I curled up on the couch next to Nightmare and turned the TV on.

"Oi, Pixie, your dad's on the news!" I yelled.

She vaulted over the back of the couch and plopped down next to me. I turned up the volume. Her father appeared on the screen, fighting a giant robot alongside the Commander and Jetstream. Hydrofreeze froze the giant's legs while Jetstream flew the Commander towards it. She tossed him into the robot and his strength sent it crashing down. He plucked the robot's eye from the scrap metal that was left of it and shook hands with Hydrofreeze, Miyuki's dad. The screen then returned to the ecstatic reporter that was covering the report. I turned the volume back down.

"I really don't like him, no matter how much good he does; it will never make up for how he and his wife used Warren and I." I complained to Miyuki about the Commander. She nodded.

"There is no excuse for that." She said.

"Do you girls want some of my cayan chocolate chip cookies?" Tempestra called from the kitchen. We both jumped from our seats and raced into the kitchen. There was nothing better than Tempestra's cayan chocolate chip cookies. We were eating cookies when Enkai walked in.

"You mean you couldn't wait for me?" He asked in mock hurt. I chuckled and tossed him a cookie. He caught it with ease and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. Tempestra laughed and told us all that we could eat more cookies after dinner. So, after we had eaten our meal of hamburgers and French fries, we all nearly devoured all of the cookies she had made before Miyuki and I went to sleep. We both went to sleep early since we had our first real day of school the next day and I knew that once again Miyuki would be waking me up much too early.

…*…

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><p><strong>As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do. Or, if you have an idea for something to happen in the story, do the same thing. <strong>

**~Shadow Wolf**


	5. Chapter 4: Lunch Time Brawls

**Sorry it's been a while, I've been studying my ass off for finals and finally found a scrap of time to post this even though it's been finished for a while. Only twenty more days and I'm a high school graduate, the days can't go fast enough.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters or ideas associated with it or any other comic books. I DO, however, own Kaida and Miyuki and their family as well as their friends so please no stealing my characters. **

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block. **

Heart of Flames

A Sky High Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx

Chapter Four: First Day of Classes and Lunch Time Brawls

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><p>I woke the next morning surprisingly early; Miyuki had not yet come in to drag me out of bed. Nightmare stirred herself awake next to me. She stretched and yawned widely as I pulled myself up out of bed.<p>

"It should be illegal for anything to require people to be up and out of bed this damn early." I complained as I shuffled tiredly into the bathroom to take a shower. After my shower, I quickly returned to my room to get dressed. I dried off and pulled on my black undergarments before pulling on a pair of black short shorts that were full of strategically placed rips. I belted them with my usual studded belt with a tribal wolf buckle and chains dangling from it. Then, I pulled on a tight black Escape the Fate tank top. Over that, I pulled on a sleeveless zip up hoodie that had a blood red dragon printed on the back above the kanji for death. I pulled my black fingerless gloves onto my hands and thirteen black sex bracelets adorned my left wrist offsetting the thick studded black leather arm band on my right arm. I covered my feet with black ankle socks before pulling on my black knee height converse and making sure the cherry red laces were tied tightly.

Satisfied with my clothes, I went back to the bathroom to do my hair and makeup. I towel dried my hair thoroughly, and styled it like I had the day before. Then, I brushed my teeth and cleaned my tongue bar. I kept my makeup simple, thickly lining my eyes with a ring of black and dusting the lids with just a touch of silver eye shadow; I coated my lips with Chap Stick. Satisfied with my look, I left the bathroom and returned to my room. Once I was back in my room, I grabbed my wallet, switchblade, and iPod and shoved them into my pockets. Then I grabbed my dog tag chain that my keys were hanging on and put it on. I grabbed my black backpack and slung it onto my shoulder before leaving the room. I met Miyuki downstairs. Somehow, even though I woke up before her, she still managed to beat me.

I rolled my eyes and took the seat next to her, snagging an apple from the bowl of fruit in the center of the table and taking a bite of it.

"Morning, Kai," She said happily. I smirked at her usual chipper attitude.

"Mornin' Pixie," I replied. She giggled and returned to her breakfast.

"Hurry up girls, you're going to be late." Tempestra said, walking over and handing each of us some money. I stood, taking the money and placing it in my wallet before heading to the door.

"Thanks, T," I threw over my shoulder with a wave. I heard her laugh from behind me as I left the house, Miyuki trailing behind me.

As we had yesterday, we walked the few short blocks to get to the bus stop, me with my music blasting in my ears loud enough that Miyuki could clearly hear the crushing riffs of My Chemical Romance. We arrived just barely before the bus did, and we each climbed onto the noisy automobile. Sadly, the seats were the same as they had been the day before. Miyuki took the empty seat next to Lash, and I was stuck sitting next to Warren. He glared at me as I sat down and I rolled my eyes at him. I could feel the heat radiating off of him in his anger and smirked. Two could play at that game. I focused until he felt cold beside me. His gaze snapped over to me.

"You got a problem, Peace?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at his glare. He huffed and turned back to look out the window. I felt his temperature fluctuate until he was slightly warmer. He still couldn't get as hot as I could. Reluctantly, I cooled down, not wanting to lose control and spontaneously combust.

When the bus arrived at the school, I raced off of it and made a beeline for my locker. I hoped I would be out of there before Warren decided he needed anything from his locker. I grabbed my binder and a notebook out of my locker and slammed it shut before walking over to join Miyuki at her locker.

"So, what's your first class, Pixie?" I asked, shoving my binder and notebook into my bag.

"Mad Science 101, you?" She replied. I smirked.

"Same," I said. "You got everything?"

"Yeah, let's go find our way to class." She said, zipping up her bag and slamming her locker shut.

We made our way through the maze like halls of the school until we finally came upon the classroom. The teacher was odd looking to say the least. He stood in front of the white board in a long white lab coat and black pants and shoes. His head was probably seven times the size of an average person's and completely bald. His skin was so pale that I could see some of the veins through his skin.

"Welcome to Mad Science 101, I am your teacher Mr. Medulla. Please take a seat anywhere." He said. His voice was slightly higher pitched than an average man's, in fact, I think my voice was actually an octave deeper than his.

"Thanks, I'm Miyuki Koizumi, and this is Kaida Flamewalker." Miyuki said to his while I made my way to a desk at the very back of the room.

I saw him freeze up slightly at the mention of our names, but otherwise he seemed to handle it pretty well. I had to at least give him credit for that. When he didn't reply other than a shaky nod, Miyuki skipped to the back of the classroom and took the seat next to me. After a few moments, the classroom was full and Medulla had begun the lesson. I tuned most of it out; all he was doing was explaining the basic differences between a ray and a beam, a subject with which I was already quite familiar.

"Am I boring you, Kaida?" He asked, surprising me from my thoughts. My gaze snapped up to meet his.

"A little," I admitted, "I already know the differences between a ray and a beam."

"Oh really, then you wouldn't mind listing them all for the class, now would you?" He said, showing absolutely no fear for who I was or who my parents were. He had just gained a few respect points for that.

"A ray is distinguished from a beam in that it describes a smaller quantity of a substance than a beam. Rays usually have several small streams, while beams are just one solid thing. For example, a Death Ray or Freeze Ray will shoot out several small streams of energy thus making the chance for a hit greater, but they cannot be sustained for more than a few minutes. Laser Beams, however, are thick streams of energy that have a concentrated target range but can be sustained for long periods of time in order to sweep across a large area while shooting one constant stream." I answered, bored. "Have I explained it enough or should I go into more detail?"

Medulla shook his head. "No, no, that was fine." He said. I smirked and returned my attention to looking out the window for the remainder of the double blocked class.

When the class was over, Miyuki and I parted ways. I went to my English class and she went to her math class. We agreed to meet up at lunch at the same table we had eaten at the day before. I enjoyed my English class, with exception of the preppy cheerleader in bright orange that took up four desks across the room from me. Gwen Grayson was also in my English class; she sat in front of the orange clad cheerleader and commanded the attention of every hormonal guy in the class.

After English class, I had calculus. Why I was forced to be in an upper level math class I would never know. The teacher was an uptight woman with severe cheekbones and a pinched mouth. Her eyes were black and hard as flint. Her grey hair was pulled into a bun so tight I was afraid it might've been cutting off circulation to her brain. I practically raced out of the classroom and away from its too strict teacher as soon as the bell rang to release us.

"I have never been more grateful to get out of a class. I hate calculus. It is so boring!" I complained to Miyuki when she sat down across from me with her food. She laughed at me and shook her head.

"I think that highlighter kid is staring at us." I said to her quietly. She turned to look over her shoulder at them and chuckled.

"They are all staring at us." She said, "Well, at least, they are when they aren't staring at Warren."

I shook my head. I took a large bite of my turkey, ham, and roast beef sandwich, shaking my head at the annoying sidekicks. I nearly choked on my food as I saw Stronghold trip. His tray went flying and its contents spilled all over Warren. Miyuki cringed across from me. We both knew that he wouldn't let that go. I heard laughter from behind me and saw the kid in stripes high fiving his fat friend who ran really fast. Apparently, Stripes had been the one to trip Stronghold.

"Stronghold!" I heard Warren growl. I snapped my gaze back over to the two of them.

The smaller kid said something that I couldn't quite catch. But it apparently hadn't been a smart something to say because Warren glared and threw a fireball at the powerless kid. Stronghold grabbed an abandoned lunch tray and caught the blast with it. He dropped the melted remains of the tray and ran, taking refuge beneath the table that Miyuki and I had just vacated.

"Where's your sidekick, sidekick!" Warren yelled as he walked along the tables, throwing fireballs down on both sides in hopes of hitting him.

"Right here!" I heard the Popsicle kid yell, stepping out from the crowd that now surrounded the border of the lunch table. The other sidekick friends of Stronghold stepped forward. Warren growled and turned his attention to them, forming a large fireball.

"Leave. My. Friends. Alone!" Stronghold yelled from beneath the table. My eyebrows rose as he stood, lifting the table and Warren easily above his head.

"Looks like someone finally got his powers." I said to Miyuki with a slight chuckle. She laughed along with me. I winced when Stronghold threw Warren clear through a wall.

"Now, who tripped me?" He said, turning to stare at Stripes. The coward reached up with his stretchy arms and pulled himself up to the ceiling and his friend raced off. I rolled my eyes.

"What, you think I can't take a hit?" Warren roared, emerging from the large hole in the wall and powering up. Stronghold turned to him, fists raised.

"This is not going to be good, you should stop him." Miyuki said from beside me. I looked at her incredulous.

"What? You know you are the only one who can stop him." She said.

"Why would I save Stronghold?" I asked her.

"Because, letting him die for something like this is no better than his father using Warren the way he did." She said. I shook my head, hating that she was right. Without stopping to think about it, I raced between the two of them, powering up and grabbing Warren's flaming arms in my own.

"Calm down, Hotshot, he ain't worth it." I said quietly so only he could hear. "I hate him too, but damn, he ain't worth the shit you'll get for this."

"Let me go…" He began before trailing off and looking down at me.

"Yeah, Hotshot, it's me." I said, reading the look in his eyes. He stopped fighting to get out of my grip just as Principal Powers arrived on scene.

"You three, come with me, now." She said, voice brooking no argument.

We followed her down the hall to a white door. The door slid open after she typed something into a keypad on the side of the door. We all filed into the room. Principal Powers came in behind us, shutting the door as she did. I watched Stronghold through narrowed eyes as he walked up to Warren. I saw his placating gestures, but whatever he had said fell on deaf ears. Warren tried to power up but couldn't.

"The detention room neutralizes all super powers. Now sit, all three of you." She said, looking pointedly at each of us. I sat begrudgingly in the empty desk between Will and Warren. Principal Powers looked sternly at each of us.

"Principal Powers, I wasn't even in the damn fight, I was trying to stop Warren from doing something stupid. How the hell does that warrant the detention room? I hate rooms like this." I hissed at her. She turned her narrowed gaze at me.

"Watch your language, Miss Flamewalker." She snapped. I sneered. "You are in this room because you took part in the fight, no matter how small a role. I understand your discomfort with this room, considering the parameters of your father's incarceration, however, that does not mean you will receive special treatment." I rolled my eyes as she finished her speech.

"The three of you will remain in this room for the remainder of the day. Let this serve as a lesson to you. Here at Sky High we teach you how to use your powers, what you choose to do with them is entirely up to you, whether it is living up to your fathers' names or trying to live them down, the decision is yours. I'm not Wonder Woman you know." She said. Without another word, she turned and left us there. I growled and crossed my arms, propping my feet up on the desk.

"Your name is Kaida, right?" Will asked, turning tentatively to look at me. I growled.

"Don't talk to me, Stronghold." I hissed.

"I didn't ask you to step in, Firecracker." Came Warren's deep voice. He spoke quietly, slowly, as if each word had to be forced from his lips. I held in the sigh at hearing his old nickname for me.

"No, but I couldn't let you do something you would regret later, Hotshot." I replied tiredly. I felt both his and Stronghold's gazes boring into me, but refused to meet either. I could feel the rage and hurt building within me like lava, the pressure was steadily growing, but there was no outlet. My head began pounding. All my fire was boiling in my blood with no way to escape. This was the reason I hated these rooms, not because they were the same technology used in my father's prison. All my emotions turned to fire and built up. I groaned in pain finally unable to contain it. My vision swam, I fell from the desk. Landed on the floor with an audible thud, a loud crack resonated.

"Firecracker?" Warren asked, he sounded worried. I heard movement, the creak of leather, booted footsteps. A cool hand touched my forehead, jerked back.

"She's burning up, is that normal for her?" Stronghold's voice. He must've been the one who touched me. Another hand touched my skin, warmer, but still cool, recoiled just as quickly.

"No, that isn't normal, even for her." He said. I whimpered as the pressure built even higher, a clamor of pained voices in my mind, flames begging for release. How I wished I could obey.

"Wa-warren…the fire….pressure…too much…" I managed to force the words out, each one a staccato note, bitten off and colored with pain.

"Her powers are fueled by emotion, the fire is building up within her but the room won't allow it to escape. Too much pressure is building up and if she doesn't get out of here it will burn her alive from the inside out." He said. I felt the muscles in my face try to smile. Even now he knew me better than anyone, enough to make sense of the jumble of words I had given him. I half bit back a cry of anguish as the pressure crested; my pulse echoed in my ears, heart raced.

"Ho-how do we, ah, get her out of here exactly?" Stronghold asked.

"That's the problem," Warren said, grasping my hand tightly, "I don't know." I felt as he gently picked me up, heard the intake of breath and felt him wince as the heat of my body burned him even through his shirt.

"War…don't….hurt….you…" I bit out followed by another pained cry.

"Its fine, Firecracker, worry about you not me." He said. There was no way for them to get me out, no way for them to get someone's attention and I knew it. It would have to be someone outside the room who helped us. _Nightmare!_

'_Nightmare! Nightmare, I need your help! Tell Principle Powers to get me out of the detention room NOW!'_ I scream mentally, praying she would hear me and be able to get there in time. All I could see were blobs of color and black spots. I felt as my eyes began to close, vision turning black as my eyes rolled back in my head.

"No, Kai, stay with me, Kai, you have to stay awake." Warren demanded. I tried to pull my eyes back open, failed. I heard a roar and frantic footsteps as I lost consciousness.

…*…

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><p><strong>As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do. Or, if you have an idea for something to happen in the story, do the same thing. <strong>

**~Shadow Wolf**


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